Motion Picture & Television Fund workers protest stalled talks

Dozens of healthcare workers from the Motion Picture & Television Fund rallied outside the charity's Wasserman campus in Woodland Hills and other locations around Los Angeles on Thursday to protest stalled contract talks with their employer.

The workers, including nurses and other caregivers, said they were picketing after contract talks between the charity and their union, Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers, appeared to hit an impasse over a host of issues.

The charity -- which operates long-term care and assisted living facilities, as well as various health clinics that serve entertainment industry workers -- has balked at the union's demands for pay hikes for about 500 members who work at the fund. For its part, the union has resisted a proposal to replace the charity's pension plan with a 401(k)-type plan and have members contribute to the premiums for their health insurance benefits. The sides also have clashed over staffing levels at the motion picture fund.